


Distractions

by PetalsToFish



Series: Canon Compliant Jily [8]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Baby Nifflers (Harry Potter), Banter, Chapter 2: NSFW, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Tumblr Prompt, jily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetalsToFish/pseuds/PetalsToFish
Summary: If there is anything James and Lily do well, it's distracting each other. Between nifflers and raging 18 year old hormones, it's a wonder they got anything accomplished.As prompted by babsthegingerqueen on Tumblr.
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Canon Compliant Jily [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199819
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	Distractions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [babsthegingerqueen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=babsthegingerqueen).



“Why on earth are you up at this ungodly hour?”

Lily, half asleep, lifted her head up from her essay on goblin rebellion to find a boy with jet black hair and hazel eyes staring at her from the open portrait hole. She tilted her head at him, startled, before her eyes glanced to the clock on the wall. The grandfather's hands told her it was quarter past three in the morning, which meant she’d been trudging through her essay for almost five hours. She fluttered her eyes back to her interrogator, even more concerned that he’d been on a late shift for Head Boy. 

“I could ask you the same thing, James.” 

“Why?”

“Well,” she placed down her quill, “it’s not a full moon, so I’m going to jump to conclusions and say you were either having fun in Hogsmeade without your beautiful girlfriend or, on a very long Head Boy shift.”

“Whichever answer will please the aforementioned beautiful girlfriend the most.”

She finally got a good look at him and both her options went quickly out the window. James, who’d grown at least another inch over the summer, leaned against the nearest wall and crossed his arms. His glasses were lopsided on his face, his clothes were rumpled with dirt and she was pretty sure there were pine needles in his hair. She quickly deduced that he’d definitely left the castle. That could mean any number of possible combinations for trouble, knowing James.

“Why are you awake?” She repeated, “right answers only.” 

“I asked first.” Was his counter response.

Lily let her eyebrows flicker up with surprise at his daring. She ought to have known he’d resort to games instead of giving her a flat answer. She was only seventeen, but she wasn’t stupid when it came to James Fleamont Potter. She knew that her boyfriend was up to something, just based on the dumb innocent expression painted across his face. He didn’t look _that_ innocent unless he was trying really hard to convince someone he was innocent. 

She decided to pass aside banter and to play his own game against him, “I’m working on my essay due in History of Magic.”

“Lovely, get back to that.” He dismissed her quickly, too quickly.

“Nah, I don’t think I will.” She pushed aside the paper to prove her point.

James grumbled under his breath but it sounded to Lily like he said, “of all the people awake at three in the morning, it had to be you.”

Lily stood up and James took a step back, smart enough to see the challenge rise on her face. She crossed her arms as she slowly made her way over to James. He grew increasingly untrustworthy the closer she got. His eyes dropped to his feet and she followed his worried gaze.

Barefoot.

In Scotland.

In September. 

“What were you up too?” She maneuvered up to his side and plucked a leaf from his rumpled sweater. “It’s way past curfew.”

James snorted and avoided her eyes carefully when said, “as if I have ever followed curfew once in my life.”

She motioned to all of him. “You look like a forest nymph.”

“You _wish_ I was a forest nymph.” He said, wrinkling his nose at her. 

“No, I prefer my stupid, mortal boyfriend who is trying _really_ hard right now to not get caught red handed.” She straightened, pretending to be a judge with James on trial, “but what are you hiding from the court, Mr. Potter?”

James threw his hands up, palms out. “Your honor, my hands are clean!”

“Your hands might be clean, but your feet tell a different story!” Lily pointed at his dirty foot with her finger, “the lack of shoes in this Court House is honestly appalling!” 

“You can’t arrest me on foot exposure!” He said, “it will never hold up in Court!”

“This is _my_ court.” Lily was having fun now, snorting at him with mirth, “You are guilty, Mr. Potter!”

James shook his head, “Your honor, please reconsider, I can change!”

“You can’t.”

“I can too.”

“You are the same idiot I fell in love with in first year.” 

“Awh, babe,” James pressed a hand to his heart like she shot him there, “that’s so sweet, I love you too.”

“Shut up, and tell me what you were doing tonight.”

James itched his chin, “would you believe me if I said I’m sleepwalking?” 

That was the biggest bullshit answer and she had to laugh again. James was the farthest thing from a sleepwalker, let alone someone who would willingly go around without his shoes. If there was anything her boyfriend did well, it was being well-dressed. He was always wearing the latest styles and he had more shoes than Lily stashed under his bed. She firmly believed that even if James did sleepwalk, he would still unconsciously put shoes on.

“What’s really going on?” She asked, “because I know for sure that you were up to no good.”

“Marauders honor,” James leaned his face closer to hers, “now, go back to your essay.”

“No.” She flashed him her dangerous white smile, “I need a good distraction.”

“You always tell me not to distract you when you’re doing schoolwork and this one time that I’m asking you to focus,” he said, “you’re finally interested in what I have to say?”

“It’s called selective interest,” She shot back, “and also, peaked interest, since you clearly came from someplace you weren’t supposed to be and you expected to get into this common room without anyone seeing you.”

James’ hand shot to his hair, ruffling it with annoyance. “Come on, Lily!”

She laughed and pulled his hand from his hair, looping her fingers through his. “Just tell me James!”

She pulled her best pouty face, opening her eyes wider as her lips formed a sad frown. James groaned as he watched her beg, letting his head fall back against the wall. She tugged at his hand, forcing him to look at her again.

“Not the pouty face!” He complained, “you know it’s irresistible!”

She rocked him with his arms playfully, “what were you doing instead of keeping your girlfriend company while she fails her Goblin essay?”

“I—oh shit.”

There was a loud bang behind her and Lily whipped around just in time to watch Sirius Black appear in thin air. He froze in his spot, barely moving, only to wince when he looked down and saw James’ invisibility cloak had slipped. It appeared he’d accidently tripped over a box of wizard trading cards someone had left at the base of the boy staircase. Her boyfriend and best friend sneaking into the common room past curfew was normal, for the most part. The thing that surprised Lily the most was that they weren’t alone.

An animal the size of a labrador puppy was in Sirius’ arms. It looked like the cross between a platypus and a beaver. Lily had only ever seen pictures of the mythical creature so it took her a second to place a name to the object. The animal’s pouch was bulging, suggesting it had stored a lot of trinkets in the last several hours. 

“Uh,” Lily said, trying to decide how to react to the scene before her, “why is Sirius carrying a niffler?”

James let go of her hand to smack his forehead as he complained, “you had _one_ job, Sirius!”

Sirius was wrestling the niffler with both hands. “Don’t blame me, you’re the one would couldn’t keep your girlfriend distracted long enough!”

“I’m not the one who let the invisibility cloak fall off!”

“I tripped!”

“And you call me blind!”

“Fine,” Sirius kicked the discarded cloak on the ground, “next time you drag this beast upstairs and _I’ll_ distract your girlfriend!”

“Wait, wait!” Lily held both her hands up to stop James from fighting with their best friend. “What are you boys doing with a niffler?”

“Ask your boyfriend.” Sirius huffed as he tightened his hold on the wriggling creature.

Lily crossed her arms and turned to look at James. He huffed and the hot air blew into her face. Even James’ face was covered in dirt, something she’d find ruggedly attractive if she wasn’t so confused by the turn of events.

“Go on,” Sirius urged James, “tell her, this _is_ technically your fault.”

“Tell me what?” she turned back to her boyfriend, suspicious when she saw he was bright red from embarrassment.

James took her hand, acting as if she were going to bite his head off. “Lily. Lil. Babe. Baby.”

“Go on...” She tilted her head, waiting for an answer to the 3am niffler rendezvous in the common room. 

He was so embarrassed, a different look for her usually suave boyfriend. Normally he oozed self confidence and arrogance. She licked her lips, blinking pointedly, as she felt him shift in his own embarrassment. 

“Do you remember how I mentioned last week that I’d borrowed your new watch for a full moon and I’d give it back?”

“I remember.”

“Well I--” He trailed off, avoiding her eye contact again.

“You?” She egged him on.

“I--I--I uhm... _fuck_.” 

“He lost it!” Sirius called from his spot by the boys staircase, “within an hour of you giving it to him! 

Lily let go of James’ hand, her mouth dropping open in horror. “James Fleamont Potter!”

James shot Sirius a look that could’ve killed. “Way to lay it on her easy, Padfoot.”

“Here to help, Prongs.” Sirius countered melodiously.

Lily pointed her finger into James’ chest, “you said you’d take care good of it!”

James winced as he groveled for forgiveness, “I know baby, I’m sorry! I had it looped around my belt, but when Peter brought our clothes into the Shrieking Shack, it was gone!” 

Lily put both her hands on her hips. The watch had been a split gift from James for her birthday. He’d splurged, getting her a watch covered in soft gold leaves. It told the time with one set of hands and the moon patterns with another. When she let them borrow it last week, she’d been _joking_ when she asked James to take good care of it.

She never fathomed he’d lose the gift that he’d been so excited to give her.

“It’s only been three weeks!” Lily looked between both boys in shock, “I can’t believe this—wait a second—how does the niffler fall into all of this?”

James chuckled, and gave her a winning smile. “Well, Professor Kettlebern taught us in third year that they like to find shiny objects, and your watch is so shiny…”

“He rented it from the magical menagerie in town.” Sirius was spilling all the tea, as she would’ve expected from her best friend. “James had us following this beast up and down the fucking grounds, hoping it would come across the watch.”

“Did it find it?”

“Er, no.” James itched his chin, “no he didn’t.”

“And your lack of shoes?” Lily dropped her gaze to James’ bare feet.

James shot the creature a desolate stare, “turns out they like _anything_ shiny and the little bugger stuffed my shoes into his pouch for the silver lace loops when I took them off to climb a tree.”

“Why were you climbing a tree?”

“To get the niffler.” Sirius said.

“Why was the niffler in a tree?” Lily didn’t know if she should laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.

“It chewed through the leash.” James said, almost as if he were ashamed. 

“You put the niffler on a leash?” Lily was covering her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter. 

“You know,” Sirius said from his position, “looking back, this wasn’t a very well thought out plan.”

That made Lily finally laugh out loud, “you think?”

James placed a hand on her shoulder apologetically. “I can buy you a new watch babe, I just knew how attached you were to that one.”

Lily bit her lip when she saw James’ shoulders drop in defeat. She had to hand it to her boyfriend, no one else would’ve gone so far for her. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. James looked up miserably.

“It’s okay,” she said, “next time, just tell me the truth.”

“I didn’t want to disappoint you,” he confessed, “you loved that gift.”

“I loved it because it came from you.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, “I love you.”

“You’d better love me too!” Sirius exclaimed as he continued wrestling the niffler, “I was up half the bloody night following this niffler for a watch I didn’t even lose!”

“Of course I love you Padfoot,” Lily used Sirius’ nickname affectionately, “but I do have a question for both of you.”

“What?” They asked simultaneously.

“Why were you bringing that niffler upstairs?” 

Sirius and James got the same wicked grins in unison. Lily immediately regretted asking, but it was too late. James tossed an arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek again. She leaned into his kiss, her cheeks warm from his affection.

“We’re gonna go put it into bed with Peter.”

“Ah,” Lily snorted and pulled out of James’ arms, “well, do what you must, I suppose.”

James looked disappointed, “you don’t want to help?”

She sent her boyfriend a salute, “I’ve got an essay and you’ve distracted me long enough.”

“Oh,” James jumped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, “so now I can’t distract you again?”

She rocked her hips into his, smirking up at him, “selective distraction only.”

James leaned down and pressed a hearty kiss to her mouth. Lily hummed as she pressed onto her tiptoes to deepen it, totally content with the distraction. When her hand wound up in his silky black strands, pine needles fell to the floor. 

Sirius made an exasperated sound in his throat, “this niffler isn’t getting any lighter, lovebirds!”

James stopped kissing her abruptly, “right, the niffler!”

Lily patted James’ arm. “Go, have fun wreaking havoc on Peter.”

“I love you.” James repeated before he bounded after Sirius up the boys staircase. 

Lily, still amused, shook her head as he disappeared from view. She settled back into her essay and was alone for all of fifteen minutes before all four of the Gryffindor boys were calling her and running down the boys staircase. Lily, assuming the niffler had bitten one of them, sighed and got out her want to perform a healing spell.

“The niffler found your watch!” James said as soon as he hit the landing, “Peter forgot that he put it in the pocket of my trousers for safe keeping!”

They dog piled her, all of them yelling together from the excitement. Lily laughed under their affection, grateful for the distraction since it came from some of her favorite people on earth. Lily looked around at the boys, waiting for them to produce the watch.

She asked, “so where is it?”

She expected one of them to pull out her gift with a beaming smile. Instead, they all grew quiet. James was looking rather sheepish as he looked down at his dirty feet. Sirius stopped hugging her and instead, took to picking a leaf from James’ hair. Peter shuffled his feet, clearly waiting for someone else to speak. 

Finally, James admitted sheepishly, “the niffler decided it was finders keepers, so, it's in his pouch.”

"Where is he?" She asked.

"Currently ransacking the boys dormitory."

"You boys are so lucky I love you."

Lily had a feeling she would be turning in her essay late because now, she had a niffler to catch. 


End file.
